Preßnitz Dam (Přísečnice Reservoir)

Gorgeous landscape, moving history

In 1970 the construction of the dam started. The city of Preßnitz and villages such as Rusová (Reischdorf), Dolina (Dörnsdorf) and Kotlina (Köstelwald) were sacrificed for drinking water supply in the Egertal.

Přísečnice (German Preßnitz) was an old mining town in the Ústecký kraj in the Czech Republic. Following the decision to build the Preßnitz dam, the town was subsequently resettled and abandoned. The former town area lies submerged beneath the water surface.
The old pass town of Preßnitz, first mentioned in 1335 as an oppidium (small town), received a mint around 1340 under King John of Bohemia, in which Bohemian groschen, the so-called Bremsiger, were minted with the inscription: "Johannes primus Dei gratia Rex Bohemiae". Emperor Charles IV granted control of the town to the Lords of Schönburg on Hassenstein. At the beginning of the 15th century, it passed into the possession of the Lobkowitz family. In 1533, Counts Hieronymus and Lorenz Schlick acquired the Preßnitz lordship. Silver mining flourished under the Schlicks.
The Bohemian and Roman-German king Ferdinand I, who was the new owner of Preßnitz from 1545, elevated the town to a royal free mining town one year later. During the Thirty Years' War, Preßnitz and the surrounding area were the scene of a major battle between Swedish and imperial troops: the Swedes under Johan Banér - pursued by imperial cavalry regiments - were on their way to Saxony via Bohemian territory and on March 17th/March 27th 1641 they moved from Kaaden over the pass into the Ore Mountains. The Battle of Preßnitz took place on the mountain ridge. Banér lost around 4,000 men, which corresponded to almost a third of the troop strength. (Source Wikipedia)